The torrential rains triggered by Cyclone Michaung on December 3-4 in Chennai and its neighbouring districts exposed yet again the limits of urban planning. The southern and northern areas of Chennai experienced severe flooding; the only exceptions were the central parts. The neighbouring districts of Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Tiruvallur were equally affected.
This spell of rains was heavier than the rains of 2015, but certain features in the city seem constant. For instance, little changed in Velachery, a much sought-after locality in recent years, or in Ambattur Industrial Estate, one of the old industrial estates of Tamil Nadu. There was public anger in areas where relief work, restoration of services including electricity supply and Internet, and the provision of essentials such as sanitary napkins left a lot to be desired.
The perceptible difference between the 2015 floods and the 2023 rains is that this time, there was no dramatic event apart from the cyclone itself. Eight years ago, the release of water from the Chembarambakkam reservoir, one of the water sources for Chennai, into Adyar in the south was widely cited as the main cause of the floods. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s report of 2017 on the 2015 Chennai floods pointed out that 29,000 cusecs of water were continuously discharged for 21 hours from the reservoir. This, coupled with surplus water from upstream tanks and catchment areas, caused flood water to flow into the Adyar river.
The DMK government, which has completed half its term, has claimed that its handling of the situation made a difference this time. It has cited the ongoing implementation of a ₹4,000-crore storm water drain project to support this position. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin lost no time in announcing the distribution of ₹6,000 to each of the cyclone-hit families in the four districts. Apparently in response to criticism that voluntary organisations did not participate in relief efforts as much as they should have, the government announced that a system is in place to channel these services.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami has doubted the efficacy of the storm water drains project and demanded a White Paper on its implementation, and also demanded that the relief amount be doubled, but some feel that the Opposition party has done little in making its presence felt on the ground.
One positive feature of the present situation is that there is a smooth working relationship between the Central and State governments. This is heartening since the relationship between the BJP and the DMK has been at a particularly low point since the controversy over the DMK’s statements on Sanatana Dharma. A host of Central agencies were involved in efforts to mitigate the crisis, the Defence Minister visited Chennai, and the Home Minister announced that funds would be allocated for flood-related work.
Over the next few weeks, normalcy will return in all the affected areas. But public-spirited individuals and civil society groups are demanding that steps be taken in a sustained manner so that the government is prepared for such a crisis and that a lasting solution to the problem of flooding be found. There are plenty of case studies on what should be done. They suggest that Anna Nagar, a locality developed in the western part of Chennai during the late 1960s and the early 1970s, did not face a major problem this time because of its pucca layout. However, many other parts of the city were not as lucky. Over the years, permission has been recklessly granted to unapproved layouts in the name of ‘regularisation schemes.’ This trend needs to be stopped.
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It is imperative for authorities to properly maintain water bodies and natural wetlands such as the Pallikaranai marsh. Citizens feel the marsh, which has shrunk to around 700 hectares from 5,000 hectares, can become more effective as a sponge for the city only if the biomining project at the nearby Perungudi dumping yard be expedited. The government should also publish the findings of the committee headed by former civil servant V. Thiruppugazh on Chennai flood disaster mitigation and management, apart from ensuring a free debate on the matter. At the macro level, it is time that the govermment considers the idea of developing a second capital or an alternative capital in the fertile parts of the Cauvery delta in central Tamil Nadu.
